RealClearWorld Articles

Relations between Algeria and France have nosedived lately, due to disagreement over autonomy for the Western Sahara, immigration tensions, a series of diplomatic incidents, and Algeria’s historic grievances over the war of independence and French nuclear testing on Algerian territory. The potential unravelling of relations between France and Algeria will create opportunities for others to connect with Algeria, provided they understand Algiers will be a partner, not a client. Algeria started to distance itself from France, and French culture, in early 2022 when the Ministry of Culture...

In March of 2025, President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on imports of steel, aluminum, automobiles, and certain automobile parts. European Union (E.U.) members, except Hungary, announced retaliatory tariffs of 10% to 25% on specific U.S. imports. On April 2, Trump proclaimed, “Liberation Day” and added a global baseline tariff of 10%, plus customized so-called “reciprocal tariffs.” Because the 2024 U.S. deficit with the E.U. was 39% of imports, he imposed a “discounted” 20% reciprocal tariff on most E.U. goods not subject to the 25% tariff. After a...

Protests in Serbia are often interpreted as a fight for democratization, against corruption, and for the defense of European values. But the reality of the political scene in the country is far more complex. Western capitals and media sometimes assume that the alternative to the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, is a pro-Western, democrat who would irreversibly align Serbia with the EU and categorically expedite the reform process. However, this assumption is naive at best and dangerously wrong at worst. Aleksandar Vučić built a relationship with the United States and the...

The Yemeni civil war originated in 2014, when the Houthi movement (representing the Zaydi Shiite Islamic minority) seized control of the capital, Sana’a. in the following years, the conflict progressively escalated, with the rebel forces consolidating their control over the northern regions, while the internationally recognised government retained authority over portions of the southern territory, including the port city of Aden, which was transformed into the temporary seat of the government. The country’s economic situation has drastically deteriorated: Yemen’s GDP has...

President Donald Trump’s “America First” foreign policy is taking shape. Its essence is geographical, and the tools to facilitate it are economic, diplomatic, and military power. It eschews abstractions and sentiment in favor of Bismarckian realism. If Abraham Lincoln led a “team of rivals,” Trump leads a team of realists whose members understand that global stability and peace don’t emerge magically from idealism and crusades, but instead result from spheres of influence and the balance of power. Trump’s team of realists include Defense Secretary...

Though drowned out by headlines about tariffs, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent NATO visit is worth dwelling on as it represents a shift in Washington’s view of the alliance. At NATO, Rubio argued that the security weaknesses of Europe, such as Ukraine, should not be America’s global welfare problem when there are more pressing matters. Rubio’s statement raises the question: Is continued U.S. support for Ukraine truly in America’s interest?  For the U.S., Ukraine has been expensive: Congress has allocated $182 billion to...

It is said, “each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” and so it is with France and Algeria. Relations between France and Algeria have recently deteriorated due to a combination of diplomatic disputes, immigration policies, and historical grievances. France’s 132-year rule of Algeria, ending in 1962 after an eight-year war of independence, still shapes relations between Paris and Algiers. Algeria has long sought apology for colonial-era wrongs and reparations for nuclear weapons tests conducted in the Sahara Desert, while France has been reluctant to fully apologize to...

As tensions escalate in the Taiwan Strait, the possibility of a full-scale crisis between China and Taiwan is no longer merely theoretical—it is increasingly being considered a plausible trigger for regional instability. In such a scenario, the Korean Peninsula would not be immune. A Trump administration, characterized by its “America First” posture, emphasis on transactional diplomacy, and skepticism of traditional alliances, would have significant implications for how a Taiwan contingency impacts Seoul. The potential ripple effects—strategic, military, economic, and...

The Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs have engendered stock markets to panic and U.S. trading partners and Trump’s domestic political opponents to complain about harmful “trade wars.” Some partisan economists have compared Trump’s tariffs to the infamous Smoot-Hawley tariff of 1930, which is often blamed for prolonging the Great Depression, although Amity Shales among others have placed greater blame for this on FDR’s New Deal policies. What is missing from most of the reactions to Trump’s tariffs, however, is an appreciation for their...

The Canada-U.S. relationship has never been so strained: American tariffs and Canada’s willingness to retaliate have sparked significant anger and hardship on both sides of the border, and it’s putting continental security at stake. Already, these tariffs are negatively impacting the Canadian economy, as the uncertainty they bring further alienates investment in Canada, as well as in the U.S. That’s not just an economic problem, it’s a security risk. An impoverished Canada creates precarity that will endanger the  United States. Instead of having a stable G7...

British Steel, the U.K.’s last bastion of primary steelmaking, announced plans to shutter its two blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, effectively ending 150 years of virgin steel production in Britain. Media outlets have rushed to pin the blame on U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent 25% tariffs on steel imports. But this narrative is a convenient distraction from a far more insidious culprit: the U.K. government’s relentless pursuit of self-destructive green policies that have crippled British manufacturing for nearly a decade. During the Industrial Revolution, Britain’s...

Security and defense cooperation between South Korea and the United Kingdom has significant strategic potential to shape the evolving security architecture of the Indo-Pacific region. The importance of this bilateral relationship stems from a complex global security landscape, characterized by increasing geopolitical competition, rapid technological advancements, and emerging hybrid threats. An analytical examination of the partnership reveals policy opportunities and strategic considerations that could profoundly influence regional stability and global security dynamics. The UK's strategic...

The ceasefire in Gaza is now over.  Where to go from here to bring peace is again an open question.  One idea that needs to die for good, however, is President Donald Trump’s proposal to takeover Gaza and move all Palestinians out.  The administration has recently sent mixed signals on this, with Trump saying the Palestinians will stay and other leading U.S. officials saying the idea is still on the table.  Taking over Gaza would be a disaster for U.S. national security.  The longer this idea lingers, the more the current peace...

A political earthquake shook Gaza this week. Its tremors continue to reverberate. Protests demanding the end of Hamas’s governance of Gaza and holding it responsible for the destruction of the enclave began in Beit Lahiya and have expanded to Khan Younis, where former head of Hamas Yahya Sinwar lived, and beyond. While Hamas, which Gaza’s protestors called terrorists, was the primary target of the protests, those who took to the streets did not hold back on their ire at what they see as Hamas’s media mouthpiece: Al Jazeera. “No no to Al Jazeera. The people are the...

Earlier this month, Elon Musk inserted himself into another political debate about Russia’s war on Ukraine. In his comments, he noted his Starlink system as the “backbone” of the Ukrainian army, asserting that, “their entire frontline would collapse” if he turned it off. Catching the eye of Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, he responded by noting Poland’s annual contributions toward paying for Starlink access for Ukraine, noting that Poland will have to seek out other suppliers if SpaceX proves unreliable. The Polish...

President Trump’s supporters have denounced the federal judges seeking to stall or stop this administration’s government overhaul. But there is at least one person who, despite a show of outrage and condemnation, is neither surprised nor intimidated: Trump himself. The politically appointed judges have ordered, among other actions, that federal agencies reinstate thousands of fired probationary employees; that billions of taxpayer dollars be paid to questionable USAID projects and contractors; and that foreign-born criminals deported to their native countries be returned and...

Recently, the House Select Committee on the Competition with the Chinese Communist Party released a video highlighting the whirlwind of bipartisan accomplishments and groundbreaking investigations they’ve undertaken. The CCP’s decades-long political warfare upon the United States demanded a response, and the Select Committee met the moment. It's curious, then, that more than 50 organizations publicly opposed Congress’ reauthorization of the highly effective committee. Closer scrutiny reveals what unites many of the “leading civil society organizations” that...

Thanks to university-driven activism over the Israel-Palestine conflict, the war in Gaza has politically sidelined the West’s commitment to global security in other regions of the world. Israel-Palestine is one of the few conflicts that inspires activism in the West, inciting rallies, petitions, and political conversation on college campuses and social media in ways that crises in Yemen, Tigray, Kashmir, or Myanmar rarely do. Yet, by catering to the victim-oppressor dichotomy that motivates campus uprisings, policymakers may neglect other global security risks.  There is no siloed...

For nearly 13 years, well before the Maidan/Crimea crisis and even Trump’s initial run for President, this author has argued for a “Reverse Nixon” or “Reverse Kissinger” tilt to Russia to balance China. In light of the recent dust-up with Ukrainian President Zelensky in the White House, it appears that President Trump is seeking a variation of this policy. While difficult for many Western elites and card-carrying members of the DC Blob to accept, this policy is essential for many reasons, and analysts, including well-known strategists like Edward Luttwak,...